Board suspends worker for child porn charge

LAND O’ LAKES — The Pasco County School Board voted Tuesday to suspend without pay a school employee who was arrested on child pornography charges two weeks ago.

Kenneth Dempsey, 52, the assistant site manager for an after-school child care program at Schrader Elementary, had been on paid leave since his April 21 arrest. Federal authorities said that an FBI investigation revealed he had sent and received numerous pornographic images of children from a computer in his home since August.

Dempsey faces a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years if he is convicted on the charges, officials said.

Only the school board can suspend a school district employee without pay, and Tuesday was the first board meeting since Dempsey’s arrest. The suspension is in effect until the matter is resolved.

District officials said previously that there was no indication that Dempsey had acted inappropriately with any students.

Dempsey has worked off and on for the Pasco County school district in various positions since 1987, according to district records. He has been assistant site manager for the Schrader PLACE program since April 18, 2011. PLACE, which stands for Pasco Learning and Activity Centers of Enrichment, provides before and after-school child care to students.

Tom Jackson

Tom Jackson’s baseball card — if he had one — would report he throws left, writes right. In his columns and blog, “The Right Stuff,” southpaw Jackson provides insight into the evolving human condition from a distinctly conservative point of view.Column | Blog